The government and the nation's public school teachers are far apart in
negotiations for the first new contract in more than a decade, and two
alliances of the various educators' unions has set an August 2 deadline
for a settlement. As this edition of The Panama News was published the
students' mid-year break had begun, and if there is a walkout it would be
extended indefinitely.

The teachers' organizations range from the moderate to the militant, and
in the fragmented politics that beset that part of the labor movement not
only are there multiple unions, there are two coalitions of unions
bargaining with the government, the Frente de Accion Magisterial (FAM) and
the
Coordinadora Nacional de Unidad Magisterial (CONUMA).
The teachers in Veraguas, habitually among the most militant, walked off
the job on July 10 and 11 to emphasize their point, while other
organizations insisted on a less confrontational style.

On July 11 thousands
of teachers converged on Plaza Catedral to voice their concerns while a
small delegation of their leaders met with government officials at the
nearby Palacio de las Garzas. Speakers from the various teachers'
organizations and labor leaders from other sectors excoriated the Torrijos
administration and its economic policies. Many of them argued that if the
Torrijos - Alemán Zubieta Plan to expand the Panama Canal is approved it
will likely be a money loser and the result will be less funding for the
public schools.

Despite their internal squabbling, once a majority of teachers decides to
go on strike they all tend to pull together regardless of any government
attempts to divide them. Last year the teachers solidly backed the Seguro
Social strike and one of their leaders, Colon high school art teacher
Andrés Rodríguez, heads both the Asociacion de Profesores and the
labor/left FRENADESO coalition that organized the 2005 strikes and
protests.

The unions are demanding a $190 per month across the board raise, while
the government is offering $65, and at the moment the framework for both
sides' proposals is a five-year contract. Entry level teachers' pay is
about $260 per month, with increases according to seniority.

The government and many of the mainstream media have been playing up the
poor performance of Panamanian public school students and graduates on
standardized tests, blaming bad teachers who are protected by their unions
for the problem. But the unions say that the politicians, almost all of
whom send their kids to private schools, have underfunded and politicized
public education for many years and are now seeing the results.